Best way (easiest) to cut chamfer on thick stock with rounded ends?

I’m thinking a router with a chamfer bit but I’m not sure what size to use. I know I could easily use my TS for the straight edges but the ends of the board are round. I looked at some chamfer bits but the dimensions only give diameter and length of the cutting edge. Maybe I’m just no good at geometry but I can’t figure what size I need. The dimensions don’t show how “deep” the bit cuts. Stock has been planed down to 1 1/8”. Any advice on bits or another method to accomplish this?

-- Dad to 5, Son of The One

3 replies so far

The depth of the cut is determined by how deep you set the bit in your router. You can use a large chamfer bit to make a deep cut or a shallow cut depending on the depth you set the router to. A small chamfer bit can only make a shallow cut.

On a 45 degree chamfer bit, the depth of cut is the same as the width of cut.

So if you expose the bit by 1/8” from tip of cutter to the router base, your chamfer should be 1/8” deep AND wide. It should be pretty easy to accurately set the depth before making the cut. Of course, you can always make a test cut on scrap.

I very rarely go bigger than a 1/4” chamfer….only if the project calls for one…I use a 1/2”—- 3/4” chamfer bit.Most of the time you just want a chamfer that will “knock off the edges” so they won’t be so sharp….Be sure to get a carbide bit, also…...